Moving to The Park

 

So, as I said in my previous post, on Saturday February 14, I moved to The Park.

This is what happened:

After my first week at Findhorn, spring cleaning Cluny, I enrolled in the four-week “Living in Community as a Guest” (LCG) program.  I’d told some of you that there was small chance I might not be accepted, but I was. However, it turned out to be a bit too tightly scheduled for me to participate in the things I want to do in the community, particularly Sacred Circle Dance*, so I’ve moved out of that program half way through.

(*Out in the wide world we call it “Circle Dance”, but here at Findhorn, one of the sources or channels of the dances, they call it “Sacred Dance”; it’s the same, except I think that they take it rather seriously and we have more fun!)

Once I’d realized that LCG wasn’t for me, things moved fast:  the chance to rent a room in a bungalow in The Park shared with a very nice person called Mary, came up quickly, so Im writing this, on the morning of Sunday February 15, sitting at a desk in the front window of the bungalow, looking out on the main thoroughfare of the Park, and, a little closer to my window, the sparrows, chaffinches and robins that frequent the bird feeders.  Americans, I suggest you Google the European robin: it looks different from the American version, and I didn't manage to snap one.




The bungalow is called "Caroline" after its owner, who's in Australia.
It has two bedrooms, two living rooms, bathroom, kitchen and garden.

House sparrow meditating on peanuts

And here's a blue tit at the same feeder.
Yes, I know non-British people are going
to snigger at the name! I guess we're used to it



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My back is warmed as I sit here bird-watching by the glow of a small woodstove, fueled with sawn up pieces of old whisky barrels. The woodstove is a Reginald (That’s actually the brand, not a name bestowed upon it at Findhorn.) I love these stoves: they’re made in Waterford, Ireland and they carry the image of a large round medieval tower, Reginald’s Tower that stands in that city.  My paternal great-grandfather, James O’Mahoney (pronounced O’Marney) lived in Reginald's Tower. He held the appointment of Sherriff of the city and the residence came with the job!

 

 

I’m already happy with my decision to move to The Park: lots of spontaneous and planned events happen in this community daily, and now I’m here to participate in picnics, ceilidhs (pronounced kay-lees), parties, walks, meditations and other projects- like yesterday, when I spent two hours with a group of people dismantling old VHS cassettes that had accumulated in the boutique, and separating out the components for re-cycling. Today I had a chance to tell two stories (including "The Little Jersey Heifer") at a "wee ceilidh". 

The dismantling of cassettes may be symbolic: here I am with six weeks ahead of me to sort out the components of my life and re-cycle myself. I wonder who will emerge.

 

Here’s a little more detail about my process in making this change

for those who wish to read it:

There seem to be about 20 LCGs in the Community at present: there may be more in summer. The program is offered in rolling four-week blocks:  participants mostly live at Cluny and are integrated into the work departments at both Cluny and The Park. I, for instance, was assigned to Park Garden. LCG is not cheap, but comfortable accommodation and good food are provided, and each subsequent block of four weeks costs less and less – you can look in the catalog at findhorn.org.

LCG is designed to help people get to know the community and to begin to understand community life. It’s a focalized program – that means there are two staff members running it who support participants. In addition to work there’s a weekly “Sharing” on Tuesday evenings and a weekly “Education” session on Thursday afternoons.  LCG is a part of the system here, and people who want to become permanent members of the community enter LCG , then move on into further programs and eventually become staff members themselves.

I quickly clarified, in my first week of LCG, that my chief connection to the Findhorn Community - a connection of more than 20 years standing - is through Sacred Circle Dance. I began to find that being at Cluny and being involved in LCG hampered my ability to participate in Sacred Dance and other activities at The Park. I  reached a watershed when Laura Shannon,

Laura Shannon - her photo,
I haven't taken one of her yet.

who has just returned to The Park for a few months, announced that on two Tuesday evenings, February 10 and 17, she would be offering special one-off programs to the “experienced” Sacred Dance group. Laura is celebrating the 30^th anniversary of her first encounter with Sacred Dance here at Findhorn, and is sharing her story as well as her dances and their healing properties with us.

It seemed amazing, almost miraculous, to me, that I should be here at Findhorn when Laura is offering these two unique sessions. There was no possible way I was going to miss them, yet I was expected to be at the LCG Tuesday evening “sharing”. I entered discussions with my focalisers.  Decisions are made here through meditation, attunement and guidance. On the Thursday afternoon our LCG “Education” session was to take a shamanic journey, moving into inner realms and connecting with a spirit animal to seek guidance. I asked my little red fox to show me who could help me on my path  and, to my utter astonishment, he led me down a trail to a place where Peter Caddy was leaning against a tree, and Eileen was standing beside the tree, smiling, and encouraging me onward. With guidance like that, nothing could stop me! 

Now, you have to understand that Peter and Eileen Caddy are two of the (deceased) founders of the Findhorn Community. They didn’t set out to found a community, and their story is well documented. I really hadn’t expected to meet them in the shamanic world. With their encouragement, I made my move, and everything fell into place: accommodation, volunteer work in the Community, transportation, supplies – all with a little help from me remembering to tether my camel, of course.  

 

Sacred Dance in Universal Hall, Findhorn Community.
This is some other time, not last Tuesday evening, when 25
of us gathered to dance with Laura Shannon in this same space.



Universal Hall